Science, Technology, and Public Policy

With the rapid growth of electric vehicles in China, their benefits should be scientifically identified to support the industry development. Although the life cycle benefits of electric vehicles have been analyzed worldwide, the recycling phase has not been fully studied yet, especially in China. Therefore, this study focuses on the economic and environmental benefits of electric vehicle recycling in China. Based on the technology adopted by leading enterprises, the gross income and reduction of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions are calculated to reveal the benefits.

Anne Boustead suggests four questions that Senator Wyden should ask following Director Coats' argument that quantifying the collection of U.S. person communications under Section 702 would exhaust agency resources and threaten privacy rights.

John Holdren, the longest-serving White House science advisor in history, is returning to Harvard Kennedy School and the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. Effective today, John will again be the Teresa and John Heinz Professor of Environmental Policy at Harvard Kennedy School and will join Dan Schrag in co-directing the Center’s Program on Science, Technology, and Public Policy.

Cyber Security Project Director Michael Sulmeyer and Project Affiliate Charley Snyder analyze the purported draft of President Trump's first executive order covering cybersecurity issues, leaked to the Washington Post and released on Friday, January 27, 2017.

As assistant to the president for science and technology, director of the White House Office for Science and Technology Policy, and co-chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), Holdren has worked closely with Obama to reinvigorate America’s scientific capabilities on a range of policy fronts, from climate change and renewable energy to health care and nanotechnology.

Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) doctoral student Daniel Velez Lopez is researching air pollution in Mexico and whether the country is willing to pay the costs to reduce it. HKS student Jennifer Kao is interviewing academics, investors, and government officials working to generate and commercialize clean energy innovations in the United Kingdom.

"It's true that the regime sometimes makes decisions that seem irrational to outside observers. But this is not generally due to religious belief but rather to the fact that the regime's interests and the national interest do not align—for example, Iran and Israel have many common strategic interests, yet Tehran has adopted anti-Israeli rhetoric and policies since the 1979 revolution. This stance may not serve national interests, but it certainly advances the Islamic Republic's interest in a strong, external-enemy narrative."

In this Q&A with The Tehran Times, Matthew Bunn is interviewed about the  “painful compromises” that Iran and the 5+1 countries will need to make if a final deal is to be struck on Iran's nuclear program.

Ariane Tabatabai examines the evolution of Iran's nuclear narrative and the ways in which President Rouhani's rhetoric on the issue differs from his predecessor's.